"I was hoping to find a really nice 70s Porsche or something locked up in the garage — because it was just locked with a padlock that no-one had a key for," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"We cut that open and it was just a pile of rubbish."

They were immediately drawn to the rugged Tasmanian landscape and friendly locals, but the prospect of paying increasing rental prices in Hobart was less appealing to the pair who were eyeing their own property.

In a bid to enter the housing market, they decided to cut down costs drastically — and turned the flimsy shack into a home.

"We just kept saving our pennies while we were living simply, without very many expenses," Mr O'Sullivan said.

The first months without electricity, hot water and a fireplace were tough, not in the least because the notoriously cold Tasmanian winter was approaching.

"But putting a solar panel on the roof and having light switches was a great improvement."

Down the track, they also figured out a way to take showers.

"We just set up a little tank on the roof and a gutter on one side to be able to collect some water," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"We found that the rainfall was pretty good in the area, so that was enough to ... live on."

But they quickly realised cold showers were not feasible in winter, and built a basic outdoor shower reliant on gas bottles.

It was "simple" living, filled with "sitting by the fire, keeping warm".

But the thing with fireplaces is, they need to be constantly fed timber to keep going.

"So, that's called 'learning by doing' — and definitely we had a few cold mornings," Mrs O'Sullivan said.

They soon realised that adding an extra log before bed went a long way.

"Or [we would] just get up at three o'clock in the morning to put that extra log on when it's really cold and you don't want to get out of bed, but it's worth it at six or seven o'clock in the morning when you have to get up," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"Rent is just getting out of control. It's really hard if you're paying $300 a week for a little two-bedroom house and then trying to save for a mortgage at the same time," Mr O'Sullivan said.

"So, being able to limit our expenses week to week and month to month was a huge help to be able to save for a deposit for our house.

"Five years ago, there was no way I thought I'd be buying a house in Tasmania in my early 30s."

CoreLogic's head of research Tim Lawless said while few would go to the lengths the O'Sullivans did, many young people felt they had to get creative to buy a home.

"I think a less extreme example would be simply that young Australians stay at home with mum or dad longer, looking to save for a deposit or to save on their expenses, which makes a lot of sense," he said.

"While most [rental] markets are quite settled, the standout seems to be Hobart where we've seen rental prices rise by 5 per cent over the last 12 months, along with Canberra."

Tony Collidge, president of the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania, said rental prices in Tasmania were high simply because there were not many properties.

"Everybody's vying for accommodation and it just pushes rents up," he said.

"We're about 5,000 residences short and that puts a strain on everything. We have strong demand, we have jobs increasing, we have a lot of international students coming here who are fighting to find accommodation."

'I remember once crying'

The O'Sullivans have just bought their first home.

How do they reflect on their time in the shack?

"We knew we had to make some compromises and sacrifices but that was for a bigger goal," Mrs O'Sullivan said.

"At times it was tough. I remember once crying. That was because of the mosquitoes."

They decided to add a mosquito net above their bed.

"There are no problems, only solutions, just up to you to find them."

This sort of "solution" may not be for everyone, they said — but knowing it was only temporary helped them get by.